Improvement in nail-plate feeders



` 2 Sheets-shee-t1- M. LEAcE. E

NAIL-PLATE FEEDER. No.170,00Z. Patented Nov. 16, 1875.

I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. LEACH.

NAIL-PLATE FEEDER. f

100.170,002. Patented Nov.1e,1a75.

milllll MPETEHS. PHOTO-LIYHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, D ,C.

MATTHEW LEAOH, OF YOUNGSTOWN, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOHN SMITH, OF SAME PLAGE, AND JOHN G. DECKER, OF GOITSVILLE, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN NAlL-PLATE FEEDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 170,002, dated November 16, 1875 application tiled October 5, 1875.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW LnAcH, of Youngstown, county of Mahoning, State of Ohio, have invented or discovered a new and `useful Improvement in Nail-Plate-Feeding .like parts- Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a perspective view of my improved machine, looking at the feeding side and driving end. Fig. 2, Sheet 2, is a like view looking at the opposite or delivery side and the opposite end. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a detached side and topV perspective of the feeding apparatus. Fig. 4, Sheet 1, is a longitudinal vertical section of the feeding apparatus. Fig. 5, Sheet 1, shows a transverse seetion through x Fig. 4. Fig.l 6, Sheet 1, is a top or plan view of the delivery end of the feeding apparatus, particularlyT illustrative of the adjustment by which the desired taper is given to the nail; and Fig. 7, Sheet 2, is a transverse sectional view through the feedingbox, at or near the plane of the feed-rollers.

My improved machine is intended for the automaticV feeding of nail-plates to nail-cutting machines, whereby the hand-labor of the. nail-cutter is wholly dispensed with, and an equally good product is secured as by the hand method of operation; and the nature of my invention consists in the features of construction and operation, hereinafter described and claimed, whereby such` useful results are secured.

The machine is mounted on any suitable support, A. A frame, Al A2, supports a driving-shaft, B, to which motion is imparted by a crank, B', or in other suitable way. This driving-shaft B carries a double-sided cam, a' a, both working in the same plane, also a Vwiper,a1, and at its end it terminates in a cam-wheel, having two projecting operative .cam-surfaces, a2 a2. The plummer-blocks A3 `carry a rocking shaft, D, and this rocking shaft receives a short rotary or rocking motion by `means of an arm, D', keyed thereto, the up- 4:per end of the arm bearing against the` camwheel on the end of the shaft B, and receiving its motion from the cam-surfaces a2 and the intermediate recesses or depressions.

Securely fastened to the rocking shaft D is a :rocking frame, l? P', the part P adjustably secured to Vthe rock-shaft D by the nuts p p, and to its projecting arm p1 is bolted the part P', which latter consists of a cross-bar and two projecting arms, 192192. Between these projecting arms is pivoted or hinged the feeding apparatus H H1 H2, and other parts presently to be described.

This feeding apparatus consists, iirst, of an irregularly-shaped frame, H, pivoted to the arms 192112, as shown at lL. The feedin g box or tube H1 rests in, and is securely attached to, this frame, as indicated at h1 h1, Figs. 1 and 2; but so that, while it cannot move endwise, except with the frame, it may be rotated or revolved therein. A ring or circle plate, H2, is arranged within the frame H, and is secured thereto by screws h2, so that it shall stand transversely across the frame H, and in a plane at right angles to the plane of the frame H, and with the feeding tube or box H1 passing through it along its axial line. The feeding box or tube H1 has an open bellshaped mouth, n', for the ready and convenient feedingin of the nail-plates n in succession. This bell-mouth gradually contracts into a throat or feeding-passage, such that the nail-plate shall, by its sloping sides, be brought into the plane and direction of feed; and the contracted walls of the passage way of the nail-plate, as illustrated in Fig. 4, along with the feed-rollers c c, (3o-operate in bringing thelnail-plate into line, and feeding' it in line to the cutters. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the feeding box or tube Hl is set with its deliveryend lower than its receiving or 'bell-mouth end, so that the nail-plates, as dropped successively into the bell-mouth a', shall by their own gravity pass endwisc into the throat, and by its sloping and convergin g sides lbe guided into the proper plane to be caught and fed forward by the feed-rolls c c.

In feeding nail-plates to cutting-machines a number of motions are required. These I will now describe separately, with the devices by which they are secured. First, after each stroke of the cutters the nail-plate must be drawn back so as to clear the moving cutter on its reverse stroke, and must also be raised up vertically, so as to clear any guide, support, shear-rest, or anvil which may be used in connection with the cutting operation, the relationship of which to the nail-plate is indicated by the rest l.

To secure the backward movement of the nail-plate betweenthe intervals of cutting, I employ the cam-wheel a2 a2, arm D', and rockshaft D. As the projecting cam-faces a2 a2, with the rotation of the driving-shaft B, engage the arm D', they impart thereby a slight or short rocking motion to the shaft D, and through it impart a corresponding back circular motion to the rocking frame P P', so that thereby the frame H, which carries the feeding appliances, is drawn back the required distance for the forward end of the nail-plate to clear the cutters. To raise the feeding end of the nail-plate, so that it can be rotated, I make use ofthe cams a a or the driving-shaft B. A lever, b, is pivoted to the frame A1, so that one outer end shall be engaged and depressed by the cams a as they rotate in succession, and the other end, taking a bearing under the forward end of the frame H, as illustrated in Fig. 2, shall raise the forward end of such frame, and with it the forward end of the feeding box or tube, the desired distance. In this latter motion the frame H turns on its pivots h. These devices are arranged and operated so that the backward and vertical motions described are simultaneous; also, after each such motion, the feeding apparatus will,

`by its own weight, come back to a feeding position.

Next, in order to rotate the nail-plate, I employ the wiper al. The frame A1 carries a U-shaped lever-support, A4. To the extremities of the arms of this support I pivot the levers b1 b2 in such position that their upper ends may, coming on opposite sides of the driving-shaft B, be successively engaged by the wiper a1. The lower end of the lever b1 is connected by a link, b3, with lever b2, at a corresponding distance from the pivotin g-point of the latter, and an extension, b4, of the latf ter lever connects by a slot and wrist, g1, with a reciprocating connectingrod, g, which latter is at t' t' pivoted to two bent levers, g2, these latter being pivoted at t" t" to the rocking frame P. The opposite or free ends of the bent levers g2 are made in the shape of the arc of a circle, as shown at 7c, and to the lower ends of such arc-shaped levers I secure the ends of a band, la', which passes over a cylindrical bearing on the feeding box or tube H1, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, and the band is kept from sliding on its bearing by a pin, s, and keeper s', the pin being supported at its outer end by the keeper, and passing through the band, entering the periphery of the bearing under the band. ,The heads of the levers g2 face each other, so that whichever way the connecting-rod g is moved by the 'e lf2/acte wiper al and the levers b1 b2 it will throw the circular head of one lever, g2, up, and the circular head of the'other down, thereby rotating the feeding tube or box H1 at the same time that the latter is thrown back and up, in

the manner above described. With the stroke of the connecting-rod g one way, eected by the wiper al engaging one of the `levers b1 or b2, the feeding box or tube H1, will be rotated 011e way ahalf-revolution. With thereverse stroke of the rod g, effected by the wiper al engaging the other lever, it will be rotated back.

To secure an intermittent feed of the desired length, and at the proper intervals, I employ the ieed-rollers c c, which are arranged in a chamber in the feeding boxor tube H1, as shown in Fig. 4, and are preferably made with rachet-shaped longitudinal utings or corrugations. These feed-rollers rotate with the box H1. Their bearings or journals c1 c2 extend outside the box at both ends, as shown in Fig. 7 and one side of the box they are geared together by cog or spur, or other suitable gearing, as at c3. A yoke, e, extends around the box H1, and is pivoted, as at el, to the extended axis or bearings c1 of one of the rolls, so as to have a rocking motion thereon. An extension, e2, of one arm or leg of this yoke carries a pawl, r, which engages a ratchetwheel, r1, or the extension of the adjacent bearing el, and this pawl is held down by a spring, r2, so as to allow it to slide from tooth-to tooth when moving one way, yand cause it to engage a tooth when moving the other way, and a backward motion of the ratchet-wheel is at all times prevented by a springdog, r3, which is carried in the proper position by an arm, r4. To give a reciprocating or rocking motion to the yoke c, and thereby cause it to actuate the pawl, ratchet-Wheel, and feed-rollers, I make on the yoke a lug, e3, which plays in an inclined slot or groove, d, made in the ring or circle plate H2. This grooved is, with a double or reverse incline mechanically, a grooved double cam. and as the feeding box or tube H1 rotates or turns over and back this groove imparts a reciprocating motion to the lug 63, and causes the yoke e to rock on the bearings o1.

Hence, as the extended leg 62 of the yoke reciprocates forward while moving along oneincline of the groove d, its pawl causes the ratchet-wheel to revolve and rotate the feed-rollers c1, and-thereby give a forward feed of the desired length to the nail-plate n, and asit moves backward along the other incline the pawl slides back on the ratchet-teeth to take a new bite for a new feed. And to make sure that the feed-rollers c shall take a rm bite on the nail-plate a, so as to feed it along without slipping, and also to adapt the feedrollers for varying thicknesses of nail-plate, I apply a yielding pressure to the bearings of one of the rolls by a spring, o, and bearing-pins o', as illustrated in Fig. 7. In order to have the nails receive the desired taper as cut, I arrange the feeding tube or box H1 so that it shall feed the nail-plate a little obliquely to the plane of the cutters, as illustrated in Fig. 6, the plane of the cutters/being indicated by the end line of the rest R. And the amount of this obliquity may be varied so as to vary the taper by inserting under one edge or the other of the arm 101, and between it and the part P', a thin washer-say, of paper or other material, or by the adjustment of the plummer-blocks A3.

That the feeding orifice of the box H1 may conform tothe slightly-varying thicknesses of nail-plates, I prefer to make one side of it of a spring-plate, m, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

To work different sized nail-plates on the same machine, I make the feeding box or tube removable, so that others of different sizes as to feed openings or passages may be inserted, and in such changes I vary the taper by the means already indicated, orin connection therewith, by setting the frame I P' one way or the other on the shaft D by means of the nuts p p.

While I have described vspecifically and in detail the construction of the devices which make up my machine, I do not limit myself therein, but include other equivalent devices, and substantially like combinations, as within the scope of my invention; hence,

I claiml. As a means of rotating the feeding box or tube, a pair of bent levers, g2, and band k', in combination with a reciprocating rod, g, substantiallyas described.

2. The frames P, P', and H, carrying loosely pivoted therein the feeding box or tube, in combination with a rock-shaft, D, substantially as set forth.

3. The levers b1 b2, in vcombination with the wiper al, connectingrod g, bent levers g2, band k', and feeding box or tube H1, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the pivoted frame H, ring or circle plate H2, formed with cam-groove d, feeding box or tube H1, yoke e, with stud e3, pawl r, ratchet-wheel T1, feed-rollers c c, spring o, and bearing-pins o', substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination with a pair of feed-rollers, c c, arranged within the feeding tube or box,a yoke, e, and cam-groove d, and ratchet and pawl, arranged and operative substantially as set forth.

6. The frame P P', made in two parts and bolted together, whereby, by the interposition of a washer, the angle of feed may be varied at pleasure, the combination of these parts with the angularly-arranged feed-tube being substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

MATTHEW LEACH.

Witnesses J. D. RANY, J osHUA C. BATES. 

